The Hit Game on Steam to Stream Using the Social Media Platform
PLAYERUNKNOWN’s Battlegrounds is the hit multiplayer shooter currently available on Steam. Even though it’s still in Early Access, the game has sold 4 million copies. That said, the most popular shooter on Steam is officially partnering with Facebook.
Despite the simplicity of the game’s objective, PLAYERUNKNOWN’s Battlegrounds has garnered widespread popularity thanks to its competitive style. As a sort of ‘last man standing’ title, the goal is to eliminate and outlast many opposing players of varied skill levels. With that in mind, it’s easy enough to get killed, so there’s plenty of gun play infused with suspense.
And thanks to their new partnership, Facebook will be streaming exclusive content from Battlegrounds starting 7 p.m. PT tonight. Leo Olebe, Facebook director of global games partnerships, talked about the deal in an interview with Polygon.
“Just as Playerunknown’s Battlegrounds came out we just started playing it in the office. You might spend 20 minutes hiding behind a rock just to get shot in the head. But it’s just such a blast. … Just like everybody else, we fell in love with it. … We reached out [to the developer, Bluehole] and said, ‘Hey is there something cool that we can do together?’”
Battlegrounds is just one in a series of partnerships we’ll witness with Facebook. Expect more in the future. The social media giant has been working to deliver exclusive gaming content on their platform. So far, this has led to partnerships with the likes of Nvidia and Blizzard to integrate technologies. Furthermore, we’ll likely see top tier esports teams livestreaming on the site later down the line.
Expect the full product release of Battlegrounds later this year. We know it’s coming to PC and Xbox One. No word yet on a PS4 release date, but we’ll have that news as it comes. Simply remember to check back.